MERS Cases Confirmed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on February 1, 2021, between June through December 31, 2020, the National IHR Focal Point of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reported four additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) with one associated death.

These MERS-CoV cases were reported from Riyadh (two cases), Taif (one case), and Al-Ahsaa (one case) Regions.

The WHO stated humans are infected with MERS-CoV from direct or indirect contact with dromedaries. MERS-CoV has demonstrated the ability to transmit between humans. So far, the observed non-sustained human-to-human transmission has occurred mainly in health care settings.

Based on the currently available information, the WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for acute respiratory infections, including MERS-CoV, and carefully review any unusual patterns. Given limited capacities in countries for testing, WHO advises that countries test all suspect MERS-CoV cases and a subset sample of severe acute respiratory infections for MERS-CoV.

However, the WHO does not advise special screening at entry points concerning this event, nor does it currently recommend applying any travel or trade restrictions.

From 2012 through 2020, a total of 2,566 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS-CoV and 882 associated deaths (34% fatality rate) were reported globally to WHO under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).

As of February 1, 2021, there are no approved MERS vaccines.